A Shared Feast: The Lasting Bond Between Saints John of Rila and John of Kronstadt

Today, on October 19, Orthodox Christians celebrate a profound spiritual intersection across centuries and borders. This date marks the shared feast day of two of Eastern Christendom's greatest luminaries: Saint John of Rila, the 10th-century desert dweller and patron saint of Bulgaria, and Saint John of Kronstadt, the 19th-century archpriest who sparked a massive eucharistic and charitable revival in imperial Russia. 

The connection between the two men began in a moment of fragile urgency. On this very day in 1829, a sickly infant was born to a poor village clerk in Russia’s remote Arkhangelsk region. Fearing the newborn would not survive the night, his parents rushed him to an immediate baptism. Following the tradition of the Church, they named him after the saint commemorated on that exact date: Saint John of Rila. The frail child not only survived but grew up to become a towering beacon of holiness, carrying his heavenly patron’s name and intercession with him for the next eighty years.

Homily for the Day of the Glorious Commemoration of Our Venerable Father John of Rila (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

The following homily was delivered on October 19th 1905, immediately after Tsar Nicholas II was forced to sign the October Manifesto amidst massive national strikes and riots. It is a fiery, prophetic warning. He compares the complete obedience and humility of Saint John of Rila, who was Saint John of Kronstadt's patron saint, to the total rebellion of his contemporaries. He sharply notes that children had ceased obeying parents, students rejected teachers, and society had abandoned faith, predicting a demonic collapse if the nation did not repent.

Homily for the Day of the Glorious Commemoration of Our Venerable Father John of Rila 

The Fruits of Faith and Unbelief

By St. John of Kronstadt

“The foundation of repentance, the model of compunction, the pattern of consolation, and the means of spiritual perfection was your life, equal to that of the Angels, O Venerable Father. Abiding in prayers and fastings, and in tears, O Father John, pray to Christ God for our souls.” (Troparion of the Venerable Father)

Today the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the glorious commemoration of our Venerable Father John of Rila, an earthly angel and a heavenly man. From his early youth, he began to labor with his mind and heart and with all the strength of his will to accomplish the Christian’s principal task in life: to put off the old man with his destructive deeds and “to put on the new man, created according to the image of God, in holiness and righteousness” (Ephesians 4:24). Through his firm and unwavering resolve, and by the grace of God, which is always ready to come to the aid of those who earnestly strive, he accomplished this task triumphantly and gloriously, attaining the glorious crown of incorruptible life.

Holy Prophet Joel in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. The name of the Prophet Joel is interpreted to mean "the love of the Lord," "beginning," or "firstfruits of God." The Prophet belonged to the tribe of Reuben and prophesied about a famine that would occur, the cessation of sacrificial offerings, and the Passion of the righteous Prophet, Jesus Christ. Through this Passion, the whole earth is renewed and saved. After completing his prophetic ministry, the prophet died and was buried in his homeland.

2. The Prophet Joel is known for his “visions” concerning the Spirit of God, who would be poured out upon humanity after the coming of the Messiah. Above all, he foretold the Day of Pentecost, as the Lord’s own Apostles emphasize, especially the Apostle Peter: “What you see, O men of Judea [that is, the descent of the Holy Spirit] is what God spoke through the Prophet Joel: This will take place in the last days, says God: I will pour out My Spirit abundantly upon all men; thus, your sons and daughters will proclaim the truth, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream divine dreams” (Acts 2:16–17).

Holy Martyr Varus in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Varus lived during the reign of Maximian and was a soldier in Egypt. He came from a distinguished, illustrious, and pious family. When seven saints were imprisoned for a long time because of their faith in Christ, Saint Varus cared for them daily. It happened that one of the seven fell asleep in the Lord, and Saint Varus took his place, provoking the ruler’s opposition. The ruler brought them all before him and ordered that Varus be the first to be beaten with clubs and that his sides be scraped for a prolonged period. After the tortures had continued for five hours, he surrendered his soul to the Lord.

2. Saint Varus brings to mind other martyrs who were led to martyrdom by the example of those who had gone before them. In other words, they admired the struggles of earlier martyrs and were thus moved to enter the contest of martyrdom of their own free will. The hymns of our Church, of course, never cease to emphasize the Saint’s great love for God, a love reaching the point of the sweetest longing. This love led him to deny himself and endure the tortures with great courage and strength:

“Seized by divine love, O all-blessed one, and by the sweetest longing, you denied yourself and steadfastly endured every torment of the flesh, contending with resolute courage.”

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 19

 

The Month of October

Day 19

50. Instruction to Mothers Who Have Lost Their Children: Third Discourse

(From the account of Holy Martyr Varus, Blessed Cleopatra, and her son John)

To you, mothers whom the Lord has ordained to lose one or another of your children, we address these words. What does it mean that whenever we have seen you at the graves of your children, we have always encountered a heart-rending sight, seeing on your faces inconsolable grief or boundless despair? What makes you give yourselves over to such sorrow? Intense love? But love must be guided by sound judgment. A lack of faith in God? But this is very dangerous.

Yes, mothers, if you are Christians, you should not behave like those who have no hope. If you believe that God exists, that the soul is immortal, and that there is a future life, why then behave as though there were no future life, as though nothing had existed, nothing existed now, and nothing would ever exist, and as though your children had vanished forever? This is unworthy of Christians. God exists; therefore, as the common Father of all, He has taken your children to Himself and will surely preserve and raise them better than you could. There is a future life; therefore, you will see your children again. There is recompense after death; therefore, there is no need to worry about your children’s fate in the life after death if you raised them in the Orthodox faith and in piety, or you can always obtain mercy for them at God’s judgment through fervent prayer. Therefore, grieve, but not without reason. Believe, hope, pray, and the Lord will comfort you.

Commemorating the Apostle Luke When His Feast Falls on a Sunday

By Fr. George Dorbarakis 

 

Our Church today sets aside the appointed sequence of readings, both the Gospel and the Apostolic reading, in order to turn its attention to Saint Luke the Evangelist, the Apostle and physician, a companion especially of the Apostle Paul, and, according to Tradition, the painter of the first icons of the Most Holy Theotokos. It does so by presenting texts associated with him. His personality and his contribution to the evangelization of mankind, both through preaching and through writing, are so great and significant that the Church does not wish to pass him by with only a few hymns. Saint Luke was not only an Apostle but also the author of the Gospel bearing his name in the New Testament, as well as the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostle Paul's reference to Luke as his beloved helper in the Apostolic reading emphatically confirms this.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 18

The Month of October

Day 18

49. On the Veneration of Holy Icons

(The Life of Saint Luke the Apostle and Evangelist)

In His second commandment, the Lord did not simply say, “You shall not make for yourself an idol,” but also added, “or any likeness.” Hence the question arises: may and ought we to venerate holy icons? We answer you, brethren, that holy icons most certainly may and ought to be venerated. This is evident from the following.

First, God Himself, who gave the words quoted above in His second commandment, nevertheless commanded Moses to place two golden cherubim in the Tabernacle, above the Ark of the Covenant. Thus, in the Book of Exodus, we read: “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘And you shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end … And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward … and their faces shall be turned toward one another’” (Exodus 25:18–20).

Encomium to our Venerable and God-bearing Father Symeon the New Theologian (St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite) - 4 of 5

 

...continued from part three. 

30. Now, if Saint Symeon demonstrates through these words how the spiritual formation of Jesus takes place in the hearts of others, how much more should we conclude that he himself first acquired this spiritual formation of Christ in his own heart, became His spiritual mother, and, having experienced and learned it himself, became a teacher of it to others? Indeed, this is precisely what we ought to conclude and firmly believe, for no one can rightly teach such divine mysteries to others unless he himself is first deemed worthy to know them through experience and to undergo them through the grace of the Holy Spirit. That the Son of God is continually born spiritually in those who love Him and becomes an infant, fashioning Himself within them through the virtues, and that the one who fears God conceives a spirit of salvation, is confirmed by the God-bearing Maximus in chapter 8 of the Third Century of the Theological Chapters²¹ and by the great Athanasius in his Questions to Antiochus²². The Prophet Isaiah had testified to this even before them, saying: “Because of Your fear, O Lord, we conceived in the womb, and were in labor, and gave birth; we brought forth a spirit of Your salvation…” (Isaiah 26:17–18).

Holy Prophet Hosea in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. The Prophet Hosea, whose name means “God saves,” is one of the twelve so-called Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. He ministered during the eighth century BC in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, whose capital was Samaria and which was finally brought to an end by the Assyrians in 722 BC. His book indicates that he did not live to see the destruction, although he prophesied and described it. We have little information about his life, but we know his teaching well from his prophetic book. The personal story of the prophet—that he married a woman named Gomer, with whom he had three daughters, who proved to be an unfaithful wife, yet whom he continued to love until he welcomed her back into his home after she repented—provides the prerequisite for understanding his book. Through his relationship with his wife, the prophet comes to understand the relationship between God—Yahweh—and His people, Israel. God loves this people, who prove unfaithful as they continually turn to idols. Yet God continues to love Israel, awaiting its repentance, and when Israel does indeed repent, He immediately accepts it, so that God and His people live in reconciliation.